Disclaimer: I do not own LOTR. This was made purely for entertainment purposes and I make no profit from this.
Chapter 1: Beginning of the End
All my life I wished I was somewhere else. It was naïve of me. I don't know what somewhere else might be like. I spent all my life here on earth, wishing for adventure, for action, for something different. I was protected. I never experienced on earth. I never got to do anything that other kids my age were allowed to do. I rebelled. It would fail to last for more then a month.
I wasn't allowed to go shopping with my friends without an adult present. I was always being shadowed by someone. And my parent's would impose ridiculous rules on me like that I needed to be in bed at 9:00pm or else they would add an extra hour on my already long list of chores. I am 15 and go to bed at 9:00pm. I felt like a baby. I had no choice, I hated the restriction.
So I decided to leave home. Not running away exactly. More like camping by yourself. I knew it was dangerous. Gods, I knew it was dangerous! How could I not know after it had been blasted into my brain since I was old enough to comprehend it? And it wasn't one of those impulses where you can't take it anymore and you leave the house but you always come back in a few hours. I was moving, I guess. I evicted myself from my parent's house. Yes, it is my parent's house. A house, not a home.
This was very well thought out. My parent's wouldn't be back until 8:00pm tonight. So I had enough time to prioritize what I would need and carry it to my camping spot. I left a note for my parent's explaining I was going away but not to worry. I knew they would worry though. They love me. I love them.
So here I am walking along the side of the road that cuts between a forest. I have my father's large camping pack on my back and its weighing me down. My watch is telling me its 15 minutes till 8:00 and suddenly I want to go home. I don't want my parents to find that their youngest daughter has disappeared only leaving a note that won't comfort them. I stopped walking and almost turned around. I wanted my mommy. I wanted my daddy. I remembered that I didn't get to say goodbye before they left for work. I guess the last thing I said to them was "good night" the night before. I could still go back.
I don't get the chance to decide. Because as I look up from the ground I see a large light and a large blaring honk. The squealing of breaks, the screeching of tires, a thud. And suddenly I'm flying through the air and the ground looks so far away. I'm wondering when I'm going to land. I realise I'm falling now. The ground is coming closer and for a moment I wonder if it's real. It's shimmering and stars are dancing in front of my eyes. Have I hit the ground yet? Is someone calling an ambulance? I hope so because I have a long way to fall.
Then something happened that I did not expect. The air in front of me warped and shifted. And the ground disappeared and suddenly I was falling through a dark black hole. Like a rip in a canvas. And then I realise that I must be dreaming. How else would I be this high off the ground. There is a green mass right below me and I see it's the largest grouping of trees I've ever seen. You don't see this many trees on earth. And I'm soaring and no longer falling. Like a leaf, I floated down to the edge of this gigantic forest. I scrape down the side of one tree and I know I have cuts all down my side, I can feel them sting. I guess this is real. You don't feel pain in dreams. My feet touch the soft soil, my shoes are gone and I'm barefoot. Did they fall off when I was hit? Or when I was flying? I don't know.
The air is sweeter here and I breathe in the fragrance of pine and dew. Maybe I am in heaven? The sky is a pure blue, the sun is bright and I can here the whisperings of the wind rustling the leaves on the trees. I look down at myself. My clothing has changed. I'm wearing a plain white shirt and plain white pants. My side is bleeding through my shirt from the cuts from scraping against bark. Can you bleed in heaven? I wouldn't know since I'm not a religious person. Then for the first time I arrive here I panic.
"Where am I? I'm supposed to be dead but I'm not! I got hit by a freaking truck and I'm not dead! But somehow I'm bleeding because of some farking tree!" I say loudly.
Then I hear whispering. And I thought before it was the wind but I think those are voices. They're ever so quiet but I can't see anyone.
"Hello?" I venture quietly. No one answers and the whispering continues. "HEY" I yell. The whispering stops. Am I going insane? I shake my head and rub my temples. No more whispers. I survey my surroundings once again. Fields in one direction as far as the eye can see and right in front of me is a large forest. I choose the forest since with a surprisingly clear mind I reasoned that I could make a shelter using branches and other things I could find. I see that my father's camping pack is a few meters away and looked slightly battered but relatively unharmed. I heave it over my shoulders and I stroll into the forest. When nothing jumps out at me I become more confident and lower my guard.
"This forest really is…pretty" I say to myself. And it was. The trees made a nice canopy overhead and the light that filtered through cast a golden glow. I giggled something I don't do but this forest was too…magnificent to be true.
I choose a large tree that was impossibly huge, that would be my home. I dump my father's pack underneath it and begin to look around for fallen branches. I bend over and pick them up one by one until my arms are full and I have to deposit them or I swear my arms would fall off. I head back to my new home or Andy (I decided to call my home) and drop the branches at my feet.
"Where is my bag?" I gasp. For indeed it was missing. I looked around wildly for it. The things I needed to survive were in there! My possessions! My memories! My eyes began to well with tears. I could no longer see. 'Mother was right I should…No! None of that nonsense' I thought, 'I can't mope. I need to find my stuff! Be brave girl. Be brave!' Yes. I take one last glance at Andy and turn around to begin to hunt.
There is an arrow. It is aimed at my head. My resolve crumbles and the silence of the forest is shattered by an ear-piercing scream. Mine.
R&R! Cheers!